Envelop-sealer



J. H. BYERLEY.

ENVELOP SEALER.

APPL'ICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1920.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOF? JHByaVey W B jW I -J. H. BYERLEY.

ENVELOP SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1920. 1,389,812, PatentedSept. 6, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ia 0 W m i i A 1 [up [Mull ill UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSIAH H. BYERLEY, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ENVELOP-SEALER.

ToaZZ whom it may concern: 7

7 Be it known that I, JOSIAH H. BYERLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Envelop-Sealers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for automatically sealing letter envelops, and has for its object to provide a machine that isinexpensive and simple in its construction and operation and that has large .capacity in the successive sealing of envelops fed into theope rating mechanism, and it is further an object of the invention to provide a machine that may be readily adjusted for the sealing of envelops of different sizes. The invention consists ,ofthe construction, the combination and in details and arrangements of the parts, an embodiment of which invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawings and described and claimed herein.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with parts broken away to illustrate clearly the construction and arrangement.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing a step in the operation of opening the'flap of an envelop.

, Fig. 4 is a detail showing a further step in the moistening of an envelop flap.

Fig. 5 is a view of a form; of the envelop opening cam.

Fig. 6 is a view of a form of the actuating cam.

The device consists of any suitable framework or casing having suitable side wall members or parts 22 standing in vertical position and suitably spaced and transversely connected as for instance by atrans verse feeding table 3 upon which may be arranged a row of envelops E that are to be sealed. The envelops areplace'd with their bottom edges resting .upon the table 3 which latter has a slightly upwardly deflected lip 3 thus passing the envelops to successively feed up-an incline so as to facilitate the dis- 7. charge of one envelop at a time by a suitable feeding device. V

The envelops are arranged in a row on the table to extend transver'sel and one side of the row is supported by t e adjacent wall 2 at the side of the table while the other end of the row of envelops is supported by a guidedevice in the form of a rod 4 that may be shifted to and fro transversely across the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 4, 1920. Serial No.

- sponding abutting Patented Sept. 6, 1921. 363,296.

table to accommodate envelops of different length; the forward end of the guide device 4 being connected as at4 to a vertical partition 5 arranged in front of the inner end of the table 3, the front end of the partition 5 having an overhanging ear 6 resting on a transverse connecting part 7 in the form of a panel that inclines upwardly and rearwardly and on the lower and inner face of which is provided, at one eno, a downwardly inclined abutment part 8, Fig. 5. A. corremember 8 is secured on the lower front end of the partition 5 as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

The envelops are arranged with their flaps F dlsposed into the chamber of the machine and the back end of the row of envelops bears against the follower 10, Figs. 1 and 2, this including an upwardly and rearwardly inclined panel or strip holding the row of envelops E with each of the envelops inclined upwardly and rearwardly. The follower 10 has a rearwardly extending supporting bracket 11 having a downwardly extending slide part 12 operating in a guide way 3 in the form .of a longitudinal slot formed'in the table 3. On the lower end of the slide part 12 of the bracket 11 is arranged a trunnion or stud shaft 14 on which is mounted an antifriction roller 15, and also mounted on the lowerv edge of the run ner or slide 12 is a transverse cleat or T-head 16 of greater width than the width of the slot 3 so as to-hold the follower a 'ainst upward movement but permitting it To reciprocate freely under the impulse of a pressure arm or finger 17 engaging the roller 15.

The finger is attached to a rock shaft 18 mounted in suitable bearings in the frame or casing 2 the rock shaft extending in vertical position and having a torque spring 19 exerting a force on the finger 17 tending to throw it in the direction of the arrow is arranged a set of escapement fingers 25 that have upwardly extending shank portions secured to a rock shaft 26.

This rock has a short lever 27 operating in a slotted upper end of a lever 28 pivoted at 29 on a bracket or hanger 30 on a side ofthe frame. This lever arm 28 has a cam contact 31 designed to engage an actuating cam 32 provided on a roller or rotating part 33 on a shaft 34, the arm 28 and fingers 25 being normally held forward by the action of a coil spring-26 on the rock shaft 26, one end of i i which is secured to said shaft and the other end pressing against the table 3. The shaft 34 has on its outer end a crank 35. The roller 33is provided with a set of rock shafts 36 extending along its periphery and one end of the rock shaft, Fig. 2, is provided with a crank 37 designed to engage a cam 38.

The rock shafts 36 are each provided with a spring device 39 to throw the arm into contact with the cam which has a high point from which the crank arm 37 is released to swing inwardly and at the same time to throw a gripping blade 40, of which there is one on each rock shaft 36, toward a complementary stationary gripping blade 41; this releasing of the movable gripping blade 40 by the cam 38 occurring just as the fixed gripping blades 41 on the roller 33 pass below the lower edge of the apron 24 and as the fingers 25 are thrown rearwardly by the cam 32' acting upon the lever 28.

- In the present case the gripper roller 33 is provided with diametrically opposite grippers 40-41 so that for each revolution of the crank shaft 34 with the gripping means two envelops are successively engaged between theclosing jaws of, a pair of grippers 4041 as the roller 20 is operated to successively advance envelops from the roll on the table. The roller shaft 21 is provided at its outer end with a sprocket wheel 22 engaging a sprocket chain 22 that is belted around an upper idler 22 and a lower driving sprocket 42 fixed on the contiguous end of the main or crank shaft 34.

The grippers carry an engaged envelop in a direction toward the back of the transverse panel 7 which is so disposed that the top sweeping edge of an envelop will engage the same, as shown in dotted lines at a, with the result that the flap F will'be sprung outwardly by the curvature of the body of the envelop E and as the envelop draws down across the interfering panel 7 the flap of the envelop continues tospread and open, this action being facilitated by the downwardly convergent top faces of the shoulders 8S at the rear of the panel 7 so that the envelop flap is ultimately brought to the fully open position b from which it springs under the continued rotation of the gripping means toward and wipes upon the adjacent moistening face of a wetting roller 45 mounted on the rollers.

inersed in a pan '47 containing water that extends transversely across the frame of the device.

"As the flap of the envelop passes downwardly in contact with the rear face of the panel 7, the bending of the envelop will cause the flap 'to open outwardly as shown by dotted lines a in Fig. 1, and as the upper edge of the envelop is drawn downwardly towardthe bottom of the panel the extreme outer ends of the flap will engage the shoulders 8 and 8 the grooves therein, with which the edges'of the flap contact, assisting in holdingthe flap on these shoulders, causing the flap to spring outwardly, that is, tendingtoward a horizontal plane with reference to the body of the envelop. As the envelop is drawn downwardly to approximatethe position shown by the dotted lines I), the gripping members 46 and 41 will have a tendency to straighten this portion of the envelop out intermediate their ends and the panel 7, and as the flap is being held by the shouldersS and 8 the said flap and body of the envelop will be in almosta horizontal plane; and-upon sufficient further movement to disengage the flap from the shoulders 8 and 8 it will then be in a position to drop down on the moistening roller 45. I

During this action, the gripping means 40 and 41 do not release the envelop in its down-. ward movement until-the same reaches a point approximately that shownon the lower side of roller 33 in Fig. 1.

toward a discharge shelf 51 the upper end of which is disposed adjacent to the sweeping ends of the gripping means, and as these approach the discharge shelf 51 the cam 38 throws the rock shaft to move the relatively separable gripping members 4041 thus releasing a moistened envelop E which' discharges downwardly on the inclined shelf 51 toward a pair of pressure rollers 52 on respective shafts 53. r

' One of these shafts is relatively yieldable, in this case the upper shaft having bearings slid ably mounted in guides 54, and the hearing blocks 55 of the shaft are engaged by springs 56 so that the upper roller is pressed .yieldingly toward thelower roller and'will give as an envelopE passes in between and is now in the position shown at c as itenters The now' sealed envelops are discharged between the pressure rollers 53. Power is transmittedto rotate either of the rollers 53 as by a sprocket gear connection .57 including a pinion mounted on the crank shaft 33.

The side guide rod 4 which is movable transversely across the table 3 extends through a slot 4' provided in the follower 10, and the downwardly extending adjustable partition member 5 has extending'from its rear edge a stay screw 5' transversely movable in a slot 24' in the apron 24, and on the end of the screw 5 is mounted a set or wing nut 5 adaptedto be screwed up against the back of the apron 24 so as to lock the adjustable members 4-5 in any desired transverse position.

arious changes may be resorted to in the construction of the devices within the spirit of the invention and Within the scope of the appended claims.

l. A machine for automatically moistening and sealing the flaps of letter envelops comprising means for automatically advancing a row of envelos from a table; means for successively shi ing .the advancing envelops; means operative to engage and periodically release the successive envelops; means for clamping the envelops after they are disengaged successively and for moving them against an abutment so as to open the flap from the body of the envelop; a moistening device across which the open and gummed flap of each envelop is drawn to moisten the gum; and means for receiving the moistened envelops and for pressing the flaps to sealing position.

2. A machine for automatically moistening the gummed area of letter envelops and for sealing same, comprising a relatively stationary abutment device; a moistening device; pressure means; and means for successively engaging envelops and moving each against the abutment device to open the flap from the body of the envelop; to carry the opened envelop against the moistening means so that the gum of the flap will be moistened and to then release the envelop so that it will be engaged by the pressure means and by the letter sealer.

3. A machine for automatically moistening the gummed area of letter envelops and for sealing same, comprising a relatlvely stationary abutment device; a moistening device; pressure means; and means for successively engaging envelops and moving each against the abutment device to open the flap from the body of the envelop; to carry the opened envelop against the moistening means so that the gum of the flap will be moistened and to then release the envelop so that it will be engaged by the pressure means and by the letter sealer; and means for successively feeding envelops from a row to the first named envelop receiving means.

4. An envelop moistening and sealing machine comprising a device for successively advancing envelops from a stack or row; escapement mechanism receiving the advancing envelops; means for successively receiving the envelops as released by the escapement mechanism and by which the envelops are opened; moistening means against which the gummed face of the flap of the opened envelop is drawn; and sealing means to which the moistened envelops are delivered.

5. An envelop moistening and sealing machine comprising a device for successively advancing envelops from a stack or row; escapement mechanism receiving the advancing envelops; means for successively receiving the envelops as released by the escapement mechanism and by which the envelops are opened; moistening means against which the gummed face of the flap of the opened envelop is drawn; and sealing means to which the moistened envelops are delivered; and a common drive means connecting the operating elements of the machine.

6. In an envelop moistening and sealing machine a feeding device and a sealing device and rotative means for receiving successive individual envelops and for opening the envelops to present the gummed faces of the flaps to the moistening means and then to discharge the moistened envelops to the sealing means.

In an envelop moistening and sealing machine a feeding device and a sealing device and rotative means for receiving successive individual envelops and for opening the envelops to present the gummed faces of the flaps to the moistening means and then to discharge the moistened envelops to the sealing means; and a' feeding and escapement mechanism operating in timed release to the rotative means.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSIAH H. BYERLEY. 

